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Learning sight words is one of the first steps that a child needs to take on their learning to read journey. Sight word games are one of the most effective ways to teach children how to automatically identify these words, making learning fun and motivational, and therefore all the more effective. ## What are Sight Words? Sight words are words like ‘it’, ‘the’, ‘and’, ‘is’ etc that appear frequently in early level texts. These words do not have a concrete image that accompanies them, and are highly dependent upon the context in which they are read, therefore they need to...

Developing phonics skills and an understanding of the alphabetic principle is one of the most fundamental skills a child needs to master on their learning to read journey. Learning to read with phonics games is one of the most effective ways for your child to learn these critical skills. ## What are Phonics Skills? When a child has an understanding of phonics and the alphabetic principle, they understand how letters relate to the small units of sound that make up words, called phonemes. The letters of the English alphabet directly relate to particular sounds, and phonics instruction helps young readers...

Teaching children to read at home can help set them up for literacy success once they start school. Some of the best ways you can teach your child the basics of learning to read at home include: ### Developing skills with the Alphabet and Phonics Understanding the alphabetic principle, that is, that letters and combinations of letters represent particular sounds, is crucial for children to make any inroads towards reading success. Being able to identify and manipulate the individual sounds that make up words, known as phonemes, not only gives kids a firmer understanding of the alphabetic principle, but makes...

One of the most common difficulties a child will encounter when learning to read is the failure to understand phonics, that is, how written spellings represent the sounds of spoken words. To help teach your children phonics skills, try engaging them in activities at home that incorporate the following: ### Play Playing with your child is actually enormously significant to their language development. As you play with them, in whatever activity, whether it’s building Lego, block towers, train tracks, playing with dolls in their dollhouse, or drawing, be intentional about using language. This can feel stilted and unnatural at first,...